Tolland Registrars Propose 2nd Poll Site

March 12, 1996|By LEE FOSTER; Courant Staff Writer

TOLLAND — Anyone who has tried in vain to find a parking space behind town hall on an election day and then waited in line to vote at the town's single polling place has probably thought, ``There must be a better way.''

The registrars of voters think they have come up with one.

Democratic Registrar Bettye Jo Pakulis and Republican Registrar Sheila Peterson have proposed that the town be divided into two voting districts and a second polling place be set up. The town council will consider the proposal at a meeting today at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers in town hall.

Traffic management and parking are the biggest problems, Pakulis said Monday. The town's only polling place for about a dozen years has been the Hicks gymnasium on the lower level of town hall. The parking lot, which also serves the public library, isn't big enough for the volume of traffic generated by an election, and the entrance to Old Post Road is too narrow for cars to enter and leave at the same time, Pakulis said.

During the peak morning hours of 6 to 8 a.m., cars headed for the polls must vie with school buses making their way along Old Post Road to the elementary and middle schools.

``It's a safety issue,'' she said.

Neither registrar has recommended where the dividing line should be or where a second polling place should be located. That decision is up to the town council, Pakulis said.

There are nine voting machines and two spares used in the Hicks gym. If the proposal is accepted, half of the machines would be sent to the new location, she said.

The town has more than twice as many registered voters using its single polling place than is recommended by the state. There are about 7,300 registered to vote and the Secretary of State's office recommends a separate voting place for every 2,500 to 3,000 voters, Pakulis said.

This is a good time to expand the voting places, since presidential elections, such as the one coming in November, always attract a large turnout, town council Chairman Joel M. Fain said Monday.

``The subject has come up over the years -- usually as we're standing in line to vote,'' Fain said.

If the council agrees with the proposal, the ordinance that designated the Hicks gymnasium as the only voting place will need to be amended. A public hearing will precede a vote by the council on the proposed amendment, said town council Chairman Joel M. Fain.